Display rack



Jan. 5, 1937.

A. M. LEWIN. JR

. DISPLAY RACK Filed Aug. 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 5, 1937.

A. M. LEWIN; JR

DISPLAY RACK Filed Aug. 15, 1935 2 Sheet-Sheet 2 E E S Patented Jan. 5,1937 UNITED srarrs mam PATENT OFiE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to display racks and has particular reference toa rack for displaying and merchandising bananas and similar foodarticles.

Heretofore, it has been customary to merchandisc bananas in either oftwo ways. One method is to hang the entire stalk with the bananasthereon from some suitable support. When a customer desires to make apurchase, he selects a certain bunch, whereupon the merchant cuts theselected bunch from the stalk. This method is unsatisfactory asindividual bananas are quite often knocked from the stalk when cutting abunch, or by the customer handling the bananas when making a selection.Individual bananas are not as readily salable as when in bunches andhence the merchant must take a loss on all dew, tached bananas.Furthermore, the customer in seeking a. desirable bunch on the stalkwill often handle and bruise other bananas while making the selection. I

The other method of merchandising bananas involves the cutting ofsuitable salable unit bunches from the stalk by the merchant when firstreceived,. and then placing these bunches on a display table. Thisarrangement is also unsatisfactory as the customer in making a selectionwill pick up and examine various bunches before making a purchase.Obviously the fruit receives considerable handling and bruising withattendant detaching of individual bananas, all of which meansconsiderable loss in money and time to the merchant.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel andimproved rack which will display bunches of bananas for sale in anexceptionally attractive and neat manner thereby promoting sales, and atthe same time permitting the customer to readily inspect each bunchwithout handling and quickly make a selection.

Another object is to provide a rack whereon each bunch of bananas isdisplayed individually so that handling and bruising of the fruit withconsequent loss to the merchant is reduced to a minimum.

A further object is to provide a rack whereon the bananas will bedisplayed in bunches, each comprising a salable unit that may be easilyand quickly detached so that the merchant may consumate the sale in aminimum of time.

A still further object is to provide a rack of the aforesaid characterwhich shall be easily and quickly assembled or dismantled, which shallbe strong and durable, and occupy a minimum of space, and which shallconsist of few parts that are simple in construction and inexpensive tomanufacture.

With the foregoing and other objects and advantages in View, theinvention may be stated to consist in the various novel features ofconstruction and arrangement or combination, all of which will be fullydescribed hereinafterand pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this application,

Fig. l is a perspective view of a rack constructed in accordance with myinvention and showing the bananas in display position thereon;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the rack; and

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

A display rack constructed in accordance with my invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein I denotes suitablebase members, each of which consists of a pair of horizontally disposedrectangular blocks 2 and 3 arranged end to end and spaced as indicatedat d for a purpose to be referred to hereinafter. Positioned on top ofthe blocks 2 and 3 is a rectangular element '5 which is substantiallycoextensive with the blocks 2 and 3. A pair of vertical supports 6, 6rise from each base member and as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, thesesup-ports are arranged in spaced relation and rest on the rectangularelement 5. The supports are secured to the base by angle braces l whichare preferably fastened to the base by bolts 8, the heads whereof arecountersunk in the blocks 2 and 3 as shown in Fig. 3, and a wing nut 9is applied to each bolt.

As shown in Fig. 2, the rack comprises two bases and two pairs ofvertical supports 6, and these elements are interconnected by aplurality of horizontally disposed bars Ill. The end portions of eachbar are positioned between the respective pairs of spaced verticalsupports 6, 5 and are retained in position by a bolt H which extendsthrough the supports and bar and is fitted with a wing nut H? to clampthe parts in assembled relationship.

In order to steady the rack and prevent side or lateral movement, Iprovide an inverted vshaped brace member l5, the vertex whereof isfastened to the lower horizontal bar Iii at substantially the mid pointthereof by means of a bolt Hi and a wing nut ll. Each outer end of thebrace I5 is bent at right angles to form a spacing portion l6 and thenagain bent at right angles to provide a bearing portion H. The spacingportion i6 is interposed between a pair of vertical supports 6, 6 and abolt l9 extends through angle brace 1, vertical support 6, brace l5,bearing portion H, the other vertical support 6 and the other anglebrace I. A wing nut 20 applied to' the bolt clamps the several parts inposition.

Secured to each horizontal bar H) at spaced intervals and on one or bothfaces are a plurality of hooks 2|, each of which is designed todetachably support a bunch of bananas. The specific details of thesebooks form no part of the present invention and hence a detaileddescription thereof is deemed unnecessary. As shown in Fig. 1, certainof the hooks are preferably inverted to support a sign 22 such as aprice card.

The rack constructed as described above is strong and durable as thestress due to the weight of the bananas is downward. The brace I5effectively prevents lateral movement of the rack and ties the partsthereof into a stiiT rigid structure. It will also be noted that theseveral parts are devoid of any recessed joints and hence are notweakened, and furthermore are inexpensive to manufacture. Also by reasonof the construction, and the use of the wing nuts, no tools are requiredto assemble or dismantle the rack which can be accomplished in a minimumof time.

The rack may be supported from the floor or from a display table 23 suchas commonly used by merchants for displaying fruit and vegetables. Whenseveral tables 23 are positioned in close group formation, the rack maybe supported thereon in a level position by permitting the upstandingedges 24 of the tables to project into the space 4 of the bases as shownin Fig. 3.

What I claim is:

1. A knockdown display rack of the character set forth comprising a pairof base members arranged in spaced relation, a pair of uprights risingfrom each base member, said uprights having smooth unbroken surfaces andresting on the top surface of said base members, an angle memberdetachably connected to each upright and its respective base member tosecure the upright in position on its respective base member, aplurality of horizontally disposed bars interconnecting said uprights,said bars having smooth unbroken surfaces, the end portions of said barsbeing interposed between said spaced uprights, a single bolt and wingnut detachably connecting each end portion of the bar with itsrespective uprights, an inverted V-shaped brace member connected at itsvertex to one of said bars and at its ends to said uprights, said bracemember and horizontally disposed bars serving as the sole lateralbracing means for said rack, and a plurality of article supportingelements carried by each bar.

2. A knockdown display rack of the character set forth comprising a pairof base members arranged in spaced relation, each base member consistingof a pair of rectangular blocks disposed in longitudinal alignment andarranged end to end in spaced relation, and a single rectangular memberoverlying and substantially coextensive with each pair of blocks, a pairof uprights rising from each base member, said uprights having smoothunbroken surfaces and resting on the top surface of said rectangularmember, an angle member interconnecting each upright with its respectivebase member, a bolt and wing nut detachably connecting each angle memberand the component parts of the base member together, and a similar boltand wing nut detachably connecting both angle members and theirrespective uprights together, a plurality of horizontally disposed barsinterconnecting said supports, said bars having smooth unbrokensurfaces, the end portions of said bars being interposed between saidspaced uprights, a single bolt and wing nut detachably connecting eachend portion of the bar with its respective uprights, an inverted V-shaped brace member connected at its vertex to one of said bars and atits end portions to said uprights, and a plurality of article supportingelements carried by each bar.

3. A knockdown display rack of the character set forth comprising a pairof base members arranged in spaced relation, a pair of spaced uprightsrising from each base member, said up rights each resting on the topsurface of its respective base member, an angle member detachablyconnected to each upright and its respective base member to secure theupright in position, a plurality of horizontally disposed barsinterconnecting said uprights, the end portions of said bars beinginterposed between saidspaced uprights, means detachably connecting saidbars to said uprights, an inverted V-shaped brace member connected atits vertex to one of said bars and having each end portion bent uponitself to form a spacing element between the spaced uprights of eachpair, and a plurality of article supporting elements carried by eachhorizontally disposed bar.

ADOLPH M. LEWIN, JR.

